1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for cleaning floors, particularly the large dimension floor surfaces of commercial establishments, such as schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, restaurants and the like, where floor cleaning and disinfecting is desired. The present invention also relates to small dimension floor surfaces, for example, the room of a sick or invalid person where cleanliness is of paramount importance. More particularly, the present invention concerns the provision of a cleaning system and the method of its use, wherein a floor cleaning trolley is provided for a floor cleaning crew, the trolley providing mobile transport for the various implements and cleaning materials that are needed for cleaning and disinfecting large floor surfaces. Also, the present invention concerns the provision of a hermetically sealable mopping cloth container that is transported by the trolley, enabling microfiber mopping cloths to be pre-impregnated in a laundry facility with floor cleaning and disinfecting agent, thereby minimizing the potential for spillage of chemical cleaning materials in rooms where floor cleaning is done and minimizing contact of soiled mopping cloths by workers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that the large floors of many commercial establishments should be disinfected as well as being cleaned, to thereby protect patients, students and workers from coming into contact with potentially dangerous bacteria during use of the facilities. It is also well known that floor cleaning personnel often use trolley devices for transporting cleaning and disinfecting materials and the equipment that is used for floor cleaning. Typically floor cleaning agents and disinfecting agents are mixed in a bucket at the site of use and floor mopping is then done. Periodically, the soiled heads of mops are placed within the bucket and agitated to liberate the soiling material, such as dirt, dust and other debris from the material of the mop head into the liquid material of the bucket. The material of the mop head is then subjected to squeezing action, typically by means of a mechanical wringer or mechanical compression device. Obviously, as the liquid material of the bucket becomes more and more soiled the mop head does not get properly cleaned, so that a residue of soiling material and cleaning and disinfecting agent will remain on the floor surface as the result of mopping.
Since it is well known that less contaminant residue will remain on a cleaned and disinfected floor surface if soiled mop heads or cloths are removed from the mop and either disposed of or cleaned of the contaminant material, more recently, disposable mop head materials have been provided. These disposable mop head materials have been found quite acceptable for domestic use; however they have been determined to be too expensive for use on a commercial basis. Consequently, many commercial establishments have laundry rooms or special facilities for storing and handling floor mopping equipment and materials. The mop devices that are used have removable mop cloths. The mop cloths are usually saturated with cleaning and disinfecting materials by dipping them in a bucket of the mixture and then using them to scrub and mop the floor surface. When the mop cloths become soiled, they are removed from the mop head and placed in a soiled cloth receptacle. From time to time the soiled cloth receptacle is transported to the laundry facility where the cloths are placed in a washing machine and subjected to cleaning activity. The cleaned mop cloths may then be re-used many times.
As mentioned above, the floor mopping and disinfecting material is typically prepared at the site of the floor to be cleaned. In addition to a bucket for the floor mopping and disinfecting material, a typical floor cleaning trolley will have containers of soap or surfactant and containers of disinfectant material. As these materials are being added to a bucket of water and then mixed, some of these concentrated cleaning and disinfecting materials can be spilled, possibly causing damage to the floor surface or contamination of the environmental air of the facility. It is desirable therefore to provide for the mixing of cleaning and disinfectant materials in the laundry facility, away from the site of the floor surface to be cleaned. It is also desirable to ensure that the floor mop cloths are properly saturated with an efficient mixture of floor cleaning material and disinfectant material so that the cloths have an optimum moisture content for properly cleaning and disinfecting the floor surface.